


Rigleen Week 2020

by wannabe_sailor



Category: Regular Show (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:14:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27412558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wannabe_sailor/pseuds/wannabe_sailor
Summary: The stories I did for Rigleen Week 2020 on Tumblr
Relationships: Eileen/Rigby (Regular Show)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	1. (Day 2 Coffee/Flowers)

‘Ah, nothing like a coffee while slacking’ Rigby thought to himself while walking to the coffee shop. He had found himself spending more and more time there alone ever since Mordecai started seeing CJ, and putting off his ridiculous workload for a cup of joe was becoming almost a daily routine. While Rigby missed spending time with his best friend, it was nice to spend some time by himself.

Rigby opened the doors to the cafe and went to sit down at his usual spot, when something stopped him. Why did he always sit at the same spot? Order the same food? The same drink? While he wasn’t much of one for change, something in him told him that today he should try something new, even if it were as simple as sitting at a new table.

Upon sitting at a booth instead of a table Rigby felt instantly uncomfortable. ‘This isn’t right’ he kept thinking to himself, yet that voice deeper inside him persuaded him to stay and experience something new.

“Hi my name is Eileen and I’ll be your server today” A familiar voice said to him, drawing his attention away from the inner conflict he was going through. “Oh hey Rigby! Sorry you weren’t at your usual spot, I didn’t recognize you” The waiter said with a smile. She was always his waiter, and again that voice deep inside of him said he wanted a change, maybe not a new waiter but some sort of change with the daily ritual. “The usual?”

“Uh actually I think I’m good. I’m not so hungry today” Rigby lied, being absolutely famished but not wanting to go through the motions once again.

“Oh alright. Well anything to drink then?” The small waiter said, slightly surprised at what was for Rigby an unorthodox answer.

“Uh I think I’m good Eileen” He replied, despite his lingering thirst.

“Um. Can I get you anything at all?” She asked, trying to get any sort of constructive response out of the raccoon. This question made that voice once again pipe up, begging for an adventure, and despite his discomfort at interrupting his comfortable routine Rigby once again obliged it.

“Hey when do you get off? Maybe we could hang out for a little?” Rigby knew the consequences of shaking off an entire day of work, but that voice inside him just wouldn’t shut up.

“Um in about an hour if you could wait” Eileen responded blushing, surprised and confused at this sudden turn in conversation but not willing to risk losing out on this date enough to ask what had prompted this. 

“Sure” The hour was long and agonizing for Rigby, the entire time battling between canceling and going back to his comfy routine, or continuing with his random spark of adventure. Finally he came to a conclusion, ‘this is absolutely crazy, I better cancel before her shift is over and get back to work’ but it was too late. Eileen came out of the backroom, changed out of her work uniform into jeans and a t-shirt.

“So where are we going Rigby?” 

“Uh. I’m not sure. Where would you like to go?” Eileen was taken aback by this. Was this the same Rigby she knew? Had he been replaced? It wasn’t like him to change his routine, want to hang out with her, and especially not to ask what other people wanted to do instead of just deciding himself. 

“There’s a farmers market downtown, mind if we go there?”  
“Sure, sounds fun” Did Rigby just say a farmers market sounded fun? She was growing increasingly worried about him, but didn’t want to pry. Maybe he was being nice? Lost a bet? Whatever it was, she was happy that they were spending time together. The market was fairly close by, so Eileen elected to walk and again, to her surprise, Rigby agreed without complaining.

“So Rigby” She started “I don’t mean to be rude but this is a pretty big change in character. What gives?”

“Yknow, I really don't know. Just sick of the same old same old I guess” Rigby said looking down at his feet, a hint of melancholy in his voice. He had been thinking about it on the walk over, and had figured some of it out, yet didn’t feel comfortable telling Eileen yet. While the time away from Mordecai had been nice it had been really lonely. He felt as though he were falling into a rut, doing the same thing over and over again, always afraid to get out his comfort zone in case it would somehow cause him to drift further from Mordecai. Rigby knew it was irrational, but couldn’t shake the feeling that breaking routine meant that he and Mordecai weren’t friends anymore.

“Oh my god! Rigby come here!” Eileen yelled. While he was lost in his thoughts Eileen went ahead, looking at the various booths. Rigby ran over to see what the fuss was about, and was met with a bouquet of flowers shoved in his face. “They’re Chocolate Cosmos! They’re my favorite flower I can’t believe we found them here! Did you know they’re extinct in the wild?” She gingerly set the flowers back down. “If only I had the money” She sighed. Rigby couldn’t help but feel sorry for her, seeing the excitement in her eyes dashed by something as silly as a price tag. The sadness in her eyes didn’t last long though, “Kettle corn!” she cried out, grabbing Rigby by the hand and dragging him over to the booth, causing him to involuntarily blush.

The rest of the day went by in a similar fashion, with Eileen dragging Rigby around to see her favorite things, and him pleasantly surprised at the amount of fun he was having. Despite the joy of the day, while he was walking Eileen home he couldn’t help but feel sad. Rigby was thinking about Mordecai, and how he missed having fun with him. It felt like the routine of getting coffee was all he had left of bro time, and now he had given even that up. Even with this on his mind, something else was causing his sadness. The Cosmos. He couldn’t get the disappointment in Eileen’s voice, her face, her body, her entire being filling with disappointment that she couldn’t take her favorite flowers home.

“We’re here” She said, her voice breaking Rigby’s train of thought. “I had a lot of fun today Rigby, thanks for coming with me” Eileen said with a smile, which quickly turned into a frown when she saw Rigby’s face. Although he was doing his best to hide it she could tell something was wearing on his mind. “Want to come in for a cup of coffee? Maybe talk for a minute?” She inquired hopefully. On a normal day she wouldn’t have dared, fearing the response, but today Rigby seemed to be agreeing to pretty much anything. He wordlessly shook his head, and stepped inside the now opened door.

Rigby made himself comfortable on the couch while Eileen brewed them both coffee, and looked around at her apartment. It was pretty spacious for an apartment, having two rooms, a kitchen, and a living room. A large TV sat in the middle of the room, and Rigby vaguely remembered Eileen telling him about her roommate who never let her use it. 

“Want to tell me what’s going on? You’ve been acting kind of weird all day” Eileen said, joining Rigby on the couch and handing him his cup of coffee. Rigby let out a sigh. He had been withdrawn all day, and Eileen was being especially nice, so he felt he owed her the truth.

“It’s just Mordecai. He’s been hanging out with CJ so much I feel like I barely get to see him. I know it’s dumb but I feel like I lost him yknow? And getting coffee everyday was something we used to do together” He felt himself tear up a little, but pushed it back, “And I listened to this stupid thought to change up my routine, and now I feel like I lost even that” Rigby finished, doing his best to not let any tears fall.

“I know how you feel. It was really hard when Margeret moved away too.” Eileen said, putting a hand on Rigby’s back. She was expecting him to shy away, but he didn’t. She heard a small plop, which she figured was a tear falling into his now lukewarm coffee. “But you guys are still really good friends, and just because you’re not spending as much time together doesn’t make you guys any less close. It’s okay for him to see you less, it doesn’t mean he stopped caring about you.” Eileen finished, expecting Rigby to be uncomfortable talking about his feelings she withdrew her hand from his back to give him space.

“I know he doesn’t…” Rigby began “I guess I feel like… I betrayed him? That doesn’t make a lot of sense. I just feel like by giving up our coffee thing it’s like I’m saying ‘Oh I don’t care about you anymore.’ I’m sorry, that’s silly and I’m not making sense” he finished with a sigh. 

“No that makes sense.” Eileen sympathetically remarked “But I think it means the opposite. I think it means you really care. It means that even though it’s hard for you to accept that you and him won’t get to hang out together as much, you’re willing to let him go and not be stuck on it, to move on and let him move on. I think that’s really mature of you.” Rigby couldn’t help but chuckle at the last sentence. He was a lot of things but mature sure wasn’t one of them.

“Thanks Eileen. I feel a lot better. I was worried you were gonna make fun of me, it’s pretty stupid to be this sad about your friend not hanging out with you because he’d rather see his girlfriend”

“I don’t think it’s stupid at all”

The duo looked at eachother, a tension filling the air. Their eyes met, and their gaze didn’t break. They slowly began to move towards each other, butterflies in their stomachs in preparation for what was about to happen. Their lips grew ever closer, and they both stared into the other’s eyes, fully appreciating the beauty for the first time. Their lips were about to meet, and things would finally be different…

Rigby’s phone buzzed. The pair was suddenly shocked back to reality and jerked back, both blushing and embarrassed about what just happened. Wordlessly they made a pact to pretend that it never happened, and Rigby checked his phone. It was from Benson. The text in all caps read “GET BACK TO THE PARK NOW OR YOU’RE FIRED!!!!”

“Uh I think I better go now, I don’t wanna lose my job” Rigby said, still embarrassed over what had almost transpired.

“Yeah I get it” Eileen responded just as bashful, face bright red and nervously rubbing her arm.

“Thanks for listening to me, it really did help. I’m not great with feelings and stuff…”  
“Yeah I can tell” She chuckled in response. “Thanks for hanging out with me at the farmers market. It was really fun.” Suddenly Rigby hugged her, and her face somehow managed to turn even more red than before. This was the closest Rigby had ever been to her, and she was not handling the pressure well. They sat there, embraced for a moment before Rigby stood up.

“Thanks for the coffee. I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah don’t mention it. Bye Rigby, thanks again”

Rigby returned to the park where he got chewed out by Benson. The usual “don’t you ever slack off again or you’re fired” speech that he had heard a thousand times before. It was getting late and Mordecai still wasn’t home, so Rigby decided to hit the hay early. As he lay on his trampoline, he couldn’t help but feel he owed Eileen something for being such a great friend.

The next day Eileen was startled from bussing the tables by the chime of a bell, signifying a customer had just entered. She took the dishes to the back and came out quickly to take the order, but instead of a stranger she found Rigby sitting at the booth he sat the day prior.

“Hey Rigby!” She happily exclaimed and ran over. “What can I get you today?”

“Uh I’ll have to think…” He managed to spit out, incredibly nervous. “Um I got you these” he said, taking his hands from behind his back to show Eileen his little surprise.

Chocolate Cosmos.


	2. (Day 4 Angst)

Eileen arrived late to the party at the guys’ house, and from standing outside the door she could hear the thumping music inside which she could instantly tell was going to give her a headache. She rang the doorbell and waited for anwer. Eileen wasn’t much for parties, but she made an exception for this one, as Rigby had personally invited her. They hadn’t talked much since he gave her the Cosmos, so with a heavy heart she rationalized that it wasn’t a romantic gesture but instead a thank you for helping him with his personal issues. She rang the bell once more, but still no reply.

Eileen breathed out an elongated sigh and opened the door, reasoning they wouldn’t be able to hear the chime over the awful (in her opinion) music that they were playing. Her eyes scanned the room for Rigby, wanting to thank him for the invite, but all she found were partygoers, dancing to the music and oblivious to the world around them. Eileen moved through the rooms of the house, hoping to find Rigby or any familiar face at all, but was only met with more strangers. She began to fear that she had gone to the wrong place, or that maybe this was some sort of prank, and her anxiety rose. Heart beating in her chest she made her way to the back patio, hoping for the cool night breeze to settle her mind. As she stumbled through the crowd her mind turned back to the invite, and the peculiar way in which Rigby had invited her.

Eileen had been on the closing shift, and was sanitizing her work station when her phone buzzed. She paused what she was doing and pulled out the old flip phone, checking just to see who it was before getting back to work. If it had been anyone else she would’ve put her phone away and gone right back to the task at hand, but this text wasn’t from just anyone. It was from Rigby. Eileen looked back at the work left to be done, pondering if she should just wait until she had closed to talk to him, but the excitement of a text from her crush was too much. She took off the rubber gloves and went to the bathroom to text Rigby.

“Hey Eileen having a party tmrw I need you there”

Need? Her heart raced at this. Why would he say need? It wasn’t ‘want you there’ or ‘like you to come’ or even a ‘really really want to see you’ it was a  _ need _ . She broke out of her love struck stupor and texted back, doing her best to play it cool.

“I’ll be there. What time?”

To her surprise a text came back immediately. Rigby usually took forever to reply.

“9 please come”

There it was again, the pleading for her to come. Suddenly her bliss at being needed by her crush turned into worry. This wasn’t like him, Rigby wasn’t one to be vulnerable. 

“Is everything okay?” Eileen quickly texted back, worried for his well being. She sat there in the stall waiting anxiously for a reply, but as the minutes ticked by she realized she would have to go back to work. Eileen put her phone back into her apron pocket and hurried back to the kitchen, sloppily finishing the work as quick as she could in order to get home and call Rigby. As Eileen worked she could feel her anxiety grow, and although she tried to push the irrational thoughts out of her head they crept in. 

For the rest of her shift, on the way home, trying to sleep, and the entire next day she wallowed in her own anxiety, worrying about Rigby. She tried to text him again and again, yet was never met with a reply, and now she was at the party and couldn’t even find him. Eileen began to wonder if this was some sort of prank, and the more she thought about it the more she believed it. Her eyes brimmed with tears, heartbroken and angry that Rigby put her through so much suffering and didn’t even show up to his own party to explain himself. Eileen opened the door and quickly made her way through the crowd, trying not to let anyone see the tears now streaming down her face. She burst through the front door and began quickly making her way back to her car when she heard a voice call her.

“Eileen, wait!” The raccoon yelled

“What do you want?” Eileen barked back, turning around to see Rigby standing in the driveway.

“Look I’m sorry, I was busy. Can we talk?” He asked with genuine concern and empathy in his voice. Eileen pondered this for a moment, still upset at about the heartache she was put through.

“I guess”

“Okay good, follow me” Rigby said, quickly grabbing her hand, taking her by surprise. Although she was angry at him Rigby was still her crush, and the hand holding was a welcome surprise. Eileen’s hard rage began to fade away into soft concern as they walked. Why would Rigby be acting so sweet? Even in the context of him dragging her somewhere, holding her hand at all was incredibly unusual and sensitive for him.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, Rigby never letting go of Eileen’s hand. Eileen was about to speak when Rigby suddenly stopped, “We’re here” he said. They stood on top of a small hill, looking out on a miniature valley beneath them. From their view they could see the city skyline, lit up with a thousand twinkling nights standing in a beautiful contrast against the night sky. Below them was the park, a stream cutting through the grassy landscape, flowing through a small stone bridge only illuminated by a street lamp.

“Wow Rigby” Eileen whispered in amazement, “This is really beautiful” her hand was still in his as he sat down on the grass, and Rigby gently pulled

“Take a seat” he said, looking up at Eileen. As she sat next to him he let go of her hand. Rigby let out an anxious sigh, and opened his mouth to talk but was interrupted by a light hit on the arm.

“What the hell man? Why didn’t you reply? Why weren’t you at the party? I was worried sick!” Eileen yelled, tears once again returning to her eyes, “Do you realize what a dick move that was?” she couldn’t contain the rage. “What the hell is wrong with you!” Eileen screamed at him. She instantly regretted her actions, as she saw a tear fall from Rigby’s eye. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I was just angry and worried and… I’m sorry.”

“No it’s okay” He sniffled “I really am the worst” his voice broke and he began to sob, and Eileen couldn’t have felt shittier,

“Hey hey, you’re not the worst” Eileen cooed, putting an arm around him and consoling him. “I was just really worried and I took it out on you. Want to tell me what’s going on buddy?”

Rigby buried his head into Eileen’s shoulder and spoke through sobs “I’m really sorry.” Eileen didn’t have a response, and just continued to hold him, trying to calm him down. After a few minutes Rigby calmed down enough to start talking. “I really didn’t mean to upset you, I was just scared to reply.”

“Why?” She asked quizzically

“I just wanted to talk to you about something important, and felt really anxious I guess.” Rigby replied with a sniffle “And I wasn’t at the party because I was thinking about what to say to you, and couldn’t figure out the right words to say it”

Eileen didn’t quite understand, and still harbored some anger but decided now wasn’t the time to express it. “So what did you want to tell me?” she softly said, rubbing his back.

“It’s just” Rigby began, taking a pause to choose his next words “Last time we hung out was really really nice, and like. No one really takes me seriously. Whenever I’m feeling upset or anything like that no one listens, but last time you did. And that really meant a lot. So I just need to ask,” He turned and looked directly at Eileen, “Can you be there for me? And I’ll be there for you? And we won’t make fun of each other when we’re upset like our other friends do?”

Eileen was shocked by his blatant honesty, and stayed silent for an uncomfortably long moment before opening her mouth, “Of course. You know I’m always here for you Rigby.” Rigby smiled and hugged her close, the two warmly embracing. They stayed like that for a while, taking in each other’s warmth, not wanting the moment to end. Finally Rigby broke away. 

“Could we start hanging out more? Just me and you?”

“Yeah. That sounds nice.”

The two sat together for another moment, looking at the city. They walked back to the party together and the rest of the night was normal, but Eileen was feeling happier than she had been since the flowers. She drove home and got into bed thinking about the same thing. When they were on the hill

Rigby had held her hand.


	3. (Day 5 Dance)

“Oh no, I don’t dance” Rigby said, politely declining Eileen’s invitation. He had been at Eileen’s all day, and while they were watching a movie she had asked him to accompany her to a dance. “And who’s having a dance? Isn’t that for like, highschoolers?” Eileen frowned at this comment, upset that he was calling her childish.

“My friend is graduating.” She said, narrowing her eyes at him, “Come on, it’ll be fun! Mordecai and CJ can come too. It’s not a big fancy thing, just a little party tomorrow.” Eileen was on the verge of getting down on her knees and begging Rigby to come, but before she could stoop so low he replied.

“Ugh fine!” He yelled, throwing his arms up, “But you owe me one!” The rest of the night continued as normal, with the duo playing video games and watching horror movies. At around 11 at night Rigby decided he best be going home, so they said their goodbyes and he began to walk to his house. The entire way home Rigby couldn’t get his mind off of Eileen, and how badly he wanted to hang out with her. This occurrence had become regular, whenever he would see her Rigby couldn’t stop thinking about her until the next time he came over, and then the cycle would repeat.

Before he knew it, Rigby was home. He continued to daydream about their next time together as he walked into his room and plopped onto his trampoline. He drifted off to sleep, thinking about him and Eileen together on her couch, and this thought worked its way into his dreams.

Rigby was sitting on Eileen’s couch and watching a movie. Eileen came through the door with a tray of snacks, setting it on the table and then sitting next to her. They watched the movie together, and then Eileen put her head on his shoulder. They cuddled for a while, which turned into kissing. Things got heated, and Eileen took Rigby’s hand and led him away. He knew what was about to happen, and as they reached a door…

The alarm blared, startling Rigby so bad he fell off his trampoline with a loud thunk. He groaned and picked himself off the floor, looking to his roommate to make sure nothing was seen. Luckily Mordecai was still fast asleep, so Rigby went downstairs to eat until his roommate woke up. He poured a bowl of cereal and started munching, thinking about his dream. He hadn’t ever thought about her in that way before, she was just a close friend. A close friend he wanted to spend all his time with. A close friend who he dreamed about. ‘Maybe she isn’t just a friend’ Rigby suddenly thought, causing him to choke on his cereal.

“Hey dude” A cheerful voice called. It was Mordecai, evidently awake and coming down to join him for breakfast. As Rigby coughed up his milk, Mordecai poured his own bowl, still groggy from waking up. “So how was your date with Eileen last night?” He asked, just to antagonize Rigby.

“It wasn’t a date!” The raccoon screamed back, immediately getting defensive. 

Mordecai smirked, happy with his friend’s annoyance. “Whatever dude” 

“Oh hey, Eileen invited me to this dance thing for her friend tonight, she said you and CJ could come.”

“Aw sick! Tell her thanks dude, I’ve been wanting to go on another date with CJ for like ever now.”

“Didn’t you see her like last week?” Rigby asked under his breath, annoyed with his friend's infatuation. However Mordecai heard this, and Rigby was met with a punch in the arm.

The day was long and hot, but for once Rigby wasn’t complaining, his mind was focused on things other than the sweltering heat. He was distracted by Eileen, thinking of them cuddling together, or going swimming together to get away from the heat. He thought of how she would look in a swimsuit, whether she liked two pieces or one pieces, but again his thoughts were interrupted by Mordecai.

“Dude! What’s wrong with you?”

“Wha?”

“You’ve been watering that same bush for like ten minutes!” Mordecai shouted. Rigby looked down at the huge puddle around the bush, the muddy water reaching up to his shins.

“Oh shit!” Rigby jumped out of the puddle and onto the dry grass, trying to shake the mud off his feet while Mordecai looked on, laughing. “It’s not funny!” Rigby screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Dude. Just tell me what’s going on. You’ve been acting weird all day.”

“It’s nothing! Just worried about the dance”

A devilish smile broke out across Mordecai’s face, “It’s because of Eileen isn’t it?” Rigby’s heart dropped. 

“No. Can we talk about something else? How much work do we have left?”

“Whatever dude you totally like her. That was our last chore, haven’t you been paying attention at all?”

“Huh. Guess not.” Rigby said, genuinely surprised. He knew he had been kind of distracted all day, but had he really been so lost in thought that an entire work day just flew by. “I’m going to go shower. Get ready for the dance y’know dude?” He said, walking off before Mordecai could reply.

The warm water felt good on Rigby’s body, washing away the sweat from the hot day. His mind was drawn away from the refreshing shower by his phone buzzing from outside the tub. He stepped out and quickly dried his hands to grab his phone and saw a text from Eileen.

“Hey Rigby, dance is more formal than I thought, wear something nice.”

He hopped back in the shower and let out a loud groan. Rigby hated wearing anything even close to nice, and wouldn’t have even thought about agreeing if he had known. He wondered what he would wear. Would just a tie be too casual? Would a tuxedo be too formal? He was in hell. Rigby grappled with this for the rest of the shower, and decided he would wear a suit, figuring if it was too formal he could just take off the jacket.

He dried off and went to the sink to brush his teeth when a thought popped into his head. ‘I wonder what Eileen is gonna wear’ Rigby didn’t want to daydream any more, but he couldn’t help himself, and thought about her all dressed up, her hair done, red lipstick… He could feel his face growing hot, and splashed some cold water on it. No, him and Eileen were just friends. It would be weird to like her, they weren’t alike at all, he was a stupid slacker and she was a brilliant hardworking woman.

“Dude!” Mordecai yelled for the thousandth time that day “You’ve been in there for like hours! I have to get ready too!”

“Alright alright calm down” Rigby yelled back through the door. He put on his underwear and undershirt and opened the door, walking to his room to get dressed.

“Hurry up next time man.” growled Mordecai before slamming the bathroom door, fed up with his friend’s strange attitude.

Rigby opened his closet and began digging through the mountain of clothes that had been haphazardly stuffed in, searching for his old suit. ‘I don’t like Eileen. I’ve just been thinking about her because we’ve been hanging out a lot” He paused in his search. Why had they been hanging out so much? “We’ve been hanging out so much because Mordecai is busy with his new girlfriend. Not because I like her.” He was satisfied with this rationalization, and found his suit quickly after.

Rigby stood in front of the mirror, buttoning up his shirt, excited for the fun night with his friends. As much as he hated to admit, he did look good in a suit, but he couldn’t help but feel as though he were missing something. A tie! Rigby ran back to the college, looking for ties. After a minute of digging he found a few but found himself arriving at a new dilemma. What tie should he wear?

Rigby sat on his bedroom floor, looking at the ties in front of him, struggling to choose a tie. After minutes of just staring he thought of an easy solution ‘I’ll just ask Eileen what color dress she has and pick a tie to match!’. Proud of his critical thinking he grabbed his phone and texted Eileen and instantly got a response. Red. 

Rigby quickly put on a solid red tie and started to walk downstairs to wait for Mordecai when all color ran from his face. Had he just asked Eileen what dress she was wearing so he could match, like they were a couple? Rigby sat on the couch, repeating the phase ‘I don’t like Eileen, she’s just my friend, we’re too different’ in his head over and over again until Mordecai came down stairs.

“Hey man, CJ is gonna be here in like ten minutes so-” He stopped himself upon looking at Rigby’s face, “Are you okay? You’re like really pale.”

“I’m fine” Rigby was able to spit out, barely above a whisper.

“Dude if you’re sick you should stay home” Mordecai began, about to jump into a lecture pressuring Rigby to stay home, but was interrupted by a phone call. “Oh you’re outside already? That was quick” and just like that he seemed to forget all about Rigby as he walked outside. Rigby sat frozen on the couch. “Come on!” the ever increasingly frustrated blue jay yelled.

Somehow Rigby managed to pry himself off the couch and follow his friend, wordlessly sitting in the backseat, frozen with fear the entire way to the party. There was no way he could like Eileen, she was just too different. ‘She’s just some nerd, you’re way too cool for her’ Rigby thought to himself, but was instantly filled with shame about thinking something so mean about someone he cared for so much. 

“We’re here!” the sudden yell awoke him from his terrified stupor, it was CJ from the front seat. ‘Shit, we’re here already?’ Rigby thought, opening the back seat door ‘I hope I’m not all weird around her’. 

“Man this place is fancy” Mordecai remarked, and Rigby couldn’t help but agree. They were at the foot of a tall skyscraper, and from outside they could see the marble and jade lobby. They headed inside and took the elevator to the top floor, as Eileen had instructed CJ to do. With every floor that they passed Rigby felt his heart beat faster, anxious about seeing this girl that was confusing him so much. Finally, after Rigby felt like his heart was going to explode, the door opened onto a crowded room, everyone in nice outfits dancing to loud pulsing music. “Haha dude this is like our prom!” Mordecai joked, lightly hitting Rigby on his arm.

“Yeah” Rigby muttered back, a total lie since no girl wanted to go to prom so he sat at home playing DOOM. 

“You’re here!” Eileen came running out of the crowd. “I’m so glad you guys made it! I don’t really know anyone here so I was really glad when she said I could bring friends” Upon hearing Eileen’s voice all of Rigby’s anxieties washed away and he just felt happy to be with her.

The four happily talked on the outskirts of the dance for a while, until CJ asked Mordecai to dance with her, leaving Eileen and Rigby alone. Once his friends left all the embarrassing thoughts found their way back into Rigby’s head and all of a sudden he found himself having a hard time breathing. “Could we go outside or something?” He asked, feeling close to passing out. Eileen could see what was happening to Rigby and urgently rushed him out of the dance room and into the stairwell. She walked up and Rigby followed her, and before he knew it they were outside on the roof. 

Rigby sat coughing his lungs out, and Eileen waited patiently for him to finish. Once it seemed like he could breathe again, Eileen then spoke. “It’s okay, the same thing happens to me when I’m anxious. Want to sit and talk?” Rigby looked at her and nodded his head, and the two sat out on the roof together looking at the stars. “What’s wrong Rigby?”

Rigby suddenly felt stupid and embarassed that just the thought of liking her sent him into such a panic, and his face turned bright red. “Look it’s nothing. I bet it was just allergies or something. Want to go in and dance?” Eileen knew something was up, but agreed to go dance anyway. Maybe if she got him to relax, he would tell her.

The duo descended the stairs and opened the door back to the loud party room, just as a new song was beginning to play. Rigby and Eileen danced together, letting loose and having fun. Before he knew it all negative thoughts were gone, and he was just having fun with one of his best friends. All of a sudden the lights dimmed, and a familiar piano intro began to play. Eileen turned to him, wide eyed.

“This is my favorite song in the entire world.” She said with awe in her voice. That’s when the first line began, and when Eileen began to sing. Loudly.

“ _ Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world, she took the midnight train going anywhere” _

As Eileen danced she pretended to be holding a microphone. Rigby felt infected by her silliness and leaned into her pretend microphone to sing the next verse.

“ _ Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit, he took the midnight train going anywhere” _

Eileen looked at Rigby, a massive smile breaking out across her face. He leaned in once again.

_ “Seen her in smokey room, smell her wine and cheap perfume, for a smile they can share the night it goes on and on” _

Though she didn’t say anything, here eyes filled with pure love for Rigby as they both sang the next part.

_ “Strangers, waiting, up and down the boulevard, their shadows searching in the night” _

They sang the rest of the song together like this, Rigby pretending to air guitar at all the solos, happier than he had been in a long time. As the song came near the end they went all out, wanting the moment to last.

“ _ DON’T STOP! BELIEVIN!” _

They practically screamed this together, and Eileen sang the last part alone knowing Rigby couldn’t hit the high.

_ “HOLD ON TO THAT FEEEEEEEELINNNNNNNG” _

As the song ended they burst into giggles, each feeling as though they would never be quite this happy again. Once again they looked into each other’s eyes, and though neither uttered a word each could see the love and joy in the other’s eyes. Both blushed. A synth played, breaking Eileen’s attention.

“It’s Forever Young! I love this song too.” she said gleefully. Eileen looked at him and smiled, and then looked around. Everyone was slow dancing. As much as she wanted to, she knew Rigby would never agree, so she turned her head to make a joke, but before she could say anything she felt his hands on her waist. She put her hands on his shoulder, and they began to slowly dance.

Rigby had realized something only a moment ago. He did like Eileen. He liked her a lot. Eileen was always there for him, letting him be vulnerable like no one else was. She made him happy, being silly and stupid. She was caring, and funny, and sweet, and even if they weren’t alike he knew he liked her. No, like wasn’t the right word. He knew he loved her.

“Hey Eileen?”

“Yeah Rigby?”

“Do you think maybe you’d want to go on a date with me some time? Yknow only if you want to.”

Eileen smiled and blushed.

“I thought you’d never ask”


	4. Day 7 Freeday

‘It’s just a first date’ Rigby thought, looking at his reflection in the mirror and smoothing his hair down. ‘No biggie. You got this.’ He opened the mirror and took out some of Mordecai’s cologne, splashing some on his wrists. A week ago, after their dance Rigby went back to Eileen’s place where they planned their first ever date; first they’d go to dinner, and then Eileen would drive them to a look out to see a meteor shower. Rigby closed the mirror and looked once more to his reflection. “You got this buddy” he said to himself before leaving to walk to Eileen’s house.

‘It’s just a first date’ Eileen thought to herself while stepping out of the shower. ‘No biggie. You got this.’ She dried herself off and slipped into her outfit, a casual red sleeveless dress with a tan jacket. She wanted to look nice for Rigby, but not too fancy. Eileen then went to her vanity to do her makeup, a rare occurrence. Before she could start she heard a knock at the door. “You got this Eileen” she said to herself before going to open the door.

“Hey” An awkward Rigby finally managed to spit out, after the two stared blankly at each other for a full minute, each too nervous to say the first word.

“Hi” Eileen replied, followed by another uncomfortable silence.

“Uh. Can I come in?” His voice broke the tension, and Eileen nervously laughed, moving out of the way so Rigby could come in. “So where are we going to dinner? I mean I’ll pay and stuff but like. Figured you’d wanna choose or something. I don’t know.” Rigby was a nervous wreck, trying to be as suave as possible but crashing and burning in a fiery inferno.

“Um I was thinking like maybe that new Greek place, Patroclus? Unless that’s too expensive or you don’t like Greek. Sorry.” Eileen wasn’t faring much better, it was as if the two were kindergarteners on their first play date, each unsure of how to act around the other, but like kindergarteners the two broke the ice over a shared interest. 

“Oh my god is that Ghost of Sashimi?” Rigby said exuberantly, rushing over to Eileen’s tv and picking up the game.

“Tsushima, and yes.” Eileen answered, beaming proudly that Rigby liked her new video game.

“What’d I say?” Rigby asked, turning his head back to look at Eileen. She just chuckled as Rigby gushed over the game and how cool it was, and just like that their awkwardness had been broken. If Eileen hadn’t politely reminded Rigby about dinner he would’ve sat on her floor and fawned over the game the entire evening. They walked outside to Eileen’s car, talking about video games the entire way, and up until she started the car.

“So, do you like Greek food?” She asked, buckling her seatbelt in and backing out of the driveway.

“Uh yeah, totally.” Rigby lied. He had never had Greek food in his life, and was still half convinced that the whole country was made up, just like Turkey. 

“Rigby, can I ask something?” Asked Eileen, eyes still on the road.

“Sure”

“Why did you decide to ask me out? I mean I’m not complaining, just curious.”

Rigby wasn’t entirely sure how to reply, as he didn’t fully understand it himself. He opened his mouth and began speaking, hoping he’d figure it out along the way. “You know we just had been having a really nice night and it had been nice hanging out.” Rigby paused for a moment to think. “I guess at that moment you just looked really pretty and it was tons of fun to sing with you.” Eileen blushed, but said nothing, satisfied with the answer. Rigby kept talking, trying to work out his feelings. “And like. You’re so nice to me, and you listen to me and understand my feelings more than anyone, and I had this weird dream-” Before he could embarrass himself he was interrupted by Eileen.

“We’re here” She said, parking the car, “You can tell me more about your dream inside” Rigby made a mental note to NOT tell her about the dream, suddenly remembering how it ended. “And Rigby?” She began opening the car door, “Thanks for telling me that. It means a lot.” Rigby beamed back at her, patting himself on the back for his moment of maturity before getting out of the car. They entered the restaurant and were led to a table near the back by a large burly man.

The restaurant was small and cozy, dimly lit by decorative lamps that gave each table a romantic charm. Near the back where the couple was seated was a large brick fireplace, giving the room a rustic feel. They looked over their menus, deciding their meal. Eileen knew almost instantly, while Rigby was struggling to even read the names of the dishes.

“I’m getting the dolmas and the souvlaki, what are you gonna get?” Eileen cheerfully said, happy to get to experience her favorite cuisine with her date.

“Uh it’s a surprise” Rigby replied, sweating. In all honesty he had no clue, and had just picked the one that seemed easiest to pronounce hoping for the best. 

“What do you wanna talk about Rigby?” Eileen almost swooned when she asked. She was starstruck, on a date with her crush of years, and she couldn’t be happier.

“I don’t know, what do people usually talk about on first dates?” Rigby responded cluelessly, causing Eileen to giggle.

“You know jobs, school, the future, things like that.”

“Oh um. How’s your job? School? The future?” 

Eileen laughed, “You generally don’t ask them all at once.” She was completely smitten, the date was going better than she expected and Rigby had been very cute so far. “Work has been pretty busy lately but nothing I can’t handle. School has been great! I’m majoring in astronomy, and as for the future I would love to be an astrophysicist.” She was going to finish on this thought, but decided she would try to be flirtatious, not one of her strong suits. “And depending on how this date goes, I think the future could be very good for both of us.” Eileen finished her little speech with a wink.

The flirting was completely lost on Rigby, not being one to pick up on romantic gestures. “That sounds like some really smart stuff. I’m just working at the park right now, no real plans.” Eileen was a little let down by this response, and mentally bashed herself for trying to be so suggestive this early into the date. Before she could say anything back to Rigby they were interrupted by their waiter, demanding their orders in a heavy Greek accent.

“Tell me order now” He said jovially. If it had not been for the burly man’s cheery disposition the duo would’ve mistaken his poor english for rudeness, but he seemed generally pleasant.

“I’ll have the dolmas and souvlaki” Eileen stated matter of factly. The waiter’s eyes expectantly turned to Rigby. 

“And I’ll take the Ji-Ro.” Rigby stated confidently, trying to appear smart in knowing how to pronounce his food. The waiter raised an eyebrow.

“What is Ji-Ro?” He asked, completely confused by this little man’s order.

“He means gyro. Eileen giggled, correcting her date’s order. ‘Shit’ Rigby thought to himself, ‘I gotta do something romantic to save myself’

“And we’ll take a bottle of white wine please, any kind will do,” Rigby quickly said before the waiter could also laugh at his pronunciation. Rigby was suddenly stunned with himself, this was the most romantic thing he had ever done. He had promised himself that he wouldn’t do any big romantic gestures, afraid it would mess up their friendship or would move things along too fast, as deep down he didn’t want to lose his new best friend.

The waiter flashed a toothy grin, “First date eh? Good man, good wine discount for new couple”

“Oh no thanks, I don’t drink.” Eileen chimed in, face bright red. Although she wasn’t interested in the alcohol she was charmed by the gesture.

“No drink? That is fine” The still grinning waiter began to walk away, but paused to bend down and whisper in Rigby’s ear, “No worry friend, we give her new surprise” He walked back to the kitchen, seeing such a young couple had reminded him of meeting his own wife in Greece, and he was determined to make this first date special for them.

“Well he seems nice.” Eileen laughed, still in good spirits over Rigby’s ordering and how happy the waiter had been over their date. “So where were we?”

“Talking about date stuff I think.” Rigby answered, “So why don’t you drink? Is that a good date question?”

Eileen responded with a smile “It’s a good question.” She thought for a moment, and then said “I guess it just never appealed to me. Do you drink? You’ve never brought it up before now.”

Rigby blushed before bashfully responding. “I don’t either, I’ve never even had wine. I was just trying to do what they do in the movies.” Eileen began to laugh, and Rigby’s light pink blush turned to a dark red. “Sorry” He pitifully said, feeling ashamed and embarrassed from everything he had done during dinner.

“Don’t be sorry!” Eileen quickly said, “It was super sweet. I really appreciate it Rigby.” And at this, Eileen decided she would be bold. She reached across the table and put her hand on Rigby’s, and then the impossible happened. Rigby’s face managed to get even redder. Before he could say anything Eileen’s hand drew back. “So” She began, suddenly unsure of what she had just done, “Any hobbies I don't know about?”

Rigby pondered for a moment before answering, “Well I like to camp but you know that. Hm. You know that I like video games too. I guess you know it all.”

Eileen looked down, disappointed in the answer. “Oh alright.” 

Rigby could see the disappointment on her face, and sighed before speaking. “I guess there’s one thing.” Eileen’s face lit up, and Rigby let out another sigh before finishing his statement, “I uh.” Rigby was having a hard time spitting it out, growing more embarrassed the more he spoke. “I like to um”

“Come on Rigby!” Eileen suddenly shouted, “I won’t judge.” she smiled, causing Rigby to break and finally say his secret.

“I like to watch musicals sometimes. And maybe sing.” He muffled his words, hoping to be unheard, but it was to no avail.

Eileen let out an audible “aw” causing her date to shrink back in his chair. “That’s so cool Rigby! What’s your favorite?” she asked.

“Um. Les Mis” Rigby answered, praying that something would save him from this embarrassment.

“Aw that’s a good one, maybe we could watch it together sometime?” Eileen asked, looking at him over her glasses. Normally Rigby would say no to anyone asking to watch a musical with him, but the secret was out and Eileen looked so cute hiding under her round glasses.

“Sure” He responded, and before any more musical talk could happen the food was brought out.

“For the lady and for the man” The large Greek said, putting their plates in front of them, “And little something to make mood” He chuckled as he lit a candle, placing it in front of them.

“Thank you!” Eileen gleefully said, with Rigby following suit. Rigby stared down at the food in front of him, unsure of what to make of it. It looked like an inflated taco, with a strange white cream slathering the strange brown strips of meat that he couldn’t identify, and the whole mess was topped off with onions and tomatoes. He had no idea what to do with it, but asking how to eat it would just prove that he had been lying about loving Greek food. 

Rigby looked up from his plate to see what Eileen was doing, trying to get a clue from how she ate her food. He was disappointed to find that her meal was not anything like his, but he kept watching anyway. She delicately sliced into what looked like little leaf burritos, dipping them into the strange white cream sauce before raising them to her red lips. He watched as her mouth opened and placed the piece of food on her tongue. She closed her mouth and began to chew, then swallow, Rigby enchanted the entire time.

“Is everything okay?” Eileen asked, breaking Rigby from his awed stupor.

“Uh yeah” Rigby stuttered, “Just got distracted I guess.” Rigby’s attention turned back to his own food, and away from the rather impure thoughts he had been having while watching Eileen. ‘Screw it’ he thought, and picked up the gyro and began to eat it like a taco. He looked back to Eileen to see if she would say anything, but she didn’t. Rigby took the silence to mean he was eating it right, and finished his meal quickly, enjoying his food but eager to go back to watching Eileen eat. To his dismay she finished rather quickly too, and casual conversation soon began again.

“So how was your food?” Eileen asked in a sing-song voice, feeling cheerful from how well the date had been going, not counting the few slight hiccups.

“It was good! Wanna know a secret?” Rigby responded. Eileen’s myrth was infectious, and he couldn’t help feel joyous and playful.

“What is it?”

“I’ve never actually had Greek food.”  
Eileen let out a dramatic gasp, smiling as she replied. “What? I never would have guessed with how well you pronounced it, and how you totally didn’t look scared to death when it came out.”

“I’m a pretty great actor.” Rigby chuckled, before following it up with a “Was it really that obvious?” 

“I just didn’t wanna be rude” She batted her eyes as she said this, attempting to make her date laugh and succeeding. As the couple sat at their table cracking up over Rigby’s pathetic attempt to seem cultured, the waiter came back with their surprise. He held a silver platter full of various deserts, and trailing behind him were multiple men, all carrying stringed instruments.

“Hello friends!” Their waiter yelled boisterously, “I have not properly introduced myself, I am Christos, and these are my sons” Christos gestured towards the men who all sheepishly waved, then continued speaking. “We all play instrument, and play if paid for special occasion, but for you, no charge!” Before either Eileen or Rigby could say anything Christos barked something in Greek at his sons who then began to play.

“Oh my gosh I love this song!” Eileen exclaimed. Rigby went to ask what song it was and how she knew it, but Eileen seemingly read his mind and answered before he could get any words out. “It’s Zorba! It’s the first song I did when I started dance classes in highschool”

“What you doing sitting here? Get up and dance!” Christos pulled Eileen up from her chair, and her face turned a deep shade of pink.

“I don’t know, it’s kind of a partner dance” She said, trying to make an excuse to not embarrass herself dancing. While this was going on Rigby had been sitting in his chair, laughing at the absurdity of the entire situation. In the midst of cracking up at Eileen standing alone by the table, he felt a hand grasp his shoulder and pull him up.

“There! You have partner!” Christos began laughing as hard as Rigby had been just moments before, delighted in this young couple’s embarrassment.

“Just follow along, it’s easy” Eileen whispered at Rigby before grabbing his hand and getting into position. Rigby slowly mimicked Eileen, crossing his legs and holding his arms out. The music started and Eileen slowly began moving her feet, allowing Rigby to watch first before he attempted. He clumsily repeated the steps, and was met with admiration from Eileen for doing so well.

The two repeatedly followed the steps, waking left, right, spinning, clapping, and repeating, each time the music getting faster. Before long the music was being played at an incredible tempo, and their feet just couldn’t keep up. Rigby, being the less experienced dancer, tripped on his own feet and brought him and his date tumbling to the ground. Both laid stunned and entangled together before erupting into fits of laughter.

“Good time yes?” Christos roared with laughter, giving first Eileen a hand up and then Rigby. “Dance is good way to fall in love!” and with that happy statement their waiter left them with the check, and a memory to last the rest of their lives.

Rigby reached for the check, joking with Eileen about how chivalrous he was. He was happy to see the food was relatively inexpensive, but left an incredibly large tip for the magical time Christos had shown them. As they walked out of the restaurant Eileen looked at Rigby, and he looked back, both staring into each other’s eyes. Rigby felt the urge to reach for her hand and hold it as they walked back to the car, but a thought suddenly paralyzed him. What if this messed everything up? 


	5. Day 6 Space

What if this date ruined their friendship? No more long talks about video games? Or hanging out like normal? What if it becomes awkward? Never being able to have fun, always worried about being romantic? Rigby was terrified, but in one sentence Eileen put all those thoughts to rest.

“You’re such a bad dancer”

Somehow that simple statement made all his worries go away. Even with the romantic tension so thick you could cut it with a knife, she could still tease him. Even on a date and being told they were falling in love, they had a simple fun time just dancing together, This simple playful insult proved to Rigby that no matter what happened, they were friends first. He wanted to shout, scream at the top of his lungs, let Eileen know how much he cared for her, and how he would be her best friend even if the romance didn’t work out. But he couldn’t, all he could say was

“At least I don’t have glasses”

But the message was received. Eileen felt the love in his teasing, and even though he didn’t say anything she picked it up loud and clear. She felt safe, knowing that their friendship wouldn’t end if a relationship began, or even if it failed. But deep down she knew it wouldn’t fail, she had never felt this way with anyone. She had been crushing on Rigby forever, and now he finally felt the same way. She wanted to hug him, thank him for finally understanding that a relationship could work out and they could be more than friends. But she couldn’t say that, and instead only said

“Let’s go to the meteor shower”

Eileen sat down in the driver's seat and started the car while Rigby made himself comfortable in the passenger. They drove in relative silence, listening to the radio and enjoying each other’s presence, lost in their own thoughts. Rigby watched the trees pass by outside the window, and thought about why he had never given Eileen a chance. Did he only realize recently that he liked her? Had he always been scared of losing her friendship? The trees continued to pass him by, and his thoughts left with them.

Eileen thought about the same things. She had always valued Rigby’s friendship, but her crush had always been obvious. Why did he only realize it recently? Was it because he didn’t realize that a relationship wouldn’t ruin their friendship? Did she do something special to make him like her? Before any of these questions could be answered they arrived.

A melancholy had fallen over them while they had been lost in their thoughts, and they wordlessly got out of the car and layed on the hood. The duo stared into the clear night sky, waiting for the comets to rain down. Seconds passed. Then minutes. 

“It’ll start any second I promise” Eileen said, sensing Rigby getting impatient. “Until then wanna play a game?” 

Rigby simply grunted in agreement, and Eileen continued.

“It’s just a get to know you game. We just ask each other silly questions about our lives. Wanna go first?”

Another grunt, followed by a period of silence while Rigby thought. Finally he spoke. “If this doesn’t work out, we’re still friends right?”

Eileen laughed, “Starting right off with the deep questions huh? Of course, but I think it’s gonna work out. Now my turn.” She thought for a moment, then asked, “When did you realize you liked me? And why?”

“Hey no fair, that’s two questions!” Rigby joked, and the two laughed for a minute. “I guess I’ve always kind of known it, but I wasn’t able to hide it from myself after those flowers. Just how nice you were, yknow? Made me realize that being more than friends might be better.”

“Huh. Good answer.”

“Yeah I guess. Alright here’s a juicy one. On a scale of 1-10 how hot am I?”

They laughed together. “A solid 7” Eileen managed to say through giggles, which only caused another barrage of laughter. “Alright mine’s another double. Why were you so anxious about having a crush on me? And how hot am I?”

“I don’t know. Losing our friendship was a big one. I’ve just never been with anyone before. I guess I’m scared.”

Eileen grabbed Rigby’s hand, and softly spoke to him. “Rigby it’s ok. But don’t worry. We’re friends no matter what, if we keep going on dates we’re just like. Extra friends. I promise.”

Rigby squeezed her hand, “I care about you a lot Eileen. I’m just confused, I’ve never done this before.”

“It’s okay.”

“9 without the glasses, 7 with”

“What?”

“The answer to how hot you are”

More uproarious laughter, and then a calm silence. They sat holding each other’s hands, confused but happy. But maybe the confusion didn’t matter. They were happy with where they were at. All these confusing thoughts about friendship and caring for each other didn’t matter, what mattered was that they were together.

“The meteor shower is starting!” Eileen exclaimed, pointing towards the sky.

They sat and watched the streaks of light race across the night sky. Rigby and Eileen thought to themselves, maybe they were thinking too hard.

“You know maybe it’s like the meteors” Eileen blurted out.

“What?”

“I mean like. This is all confusing. Why we like each other and why we’re afraid and stuff. But like. Maybe it’s all about the moment yknow? Those comets traveled all across the galaxy, but we don’t care until they hit earth. It’s all in that one moment when they’re shining through the sky. Maybe that’s what matters, not the confusing space stuff.”

Rigby was silent.

“Sorry. That doesn’t make sense.” She sighed

“No it does. Like. Let’s just be in the moment right?”

“Right. Like shooting stars.”  
“Like shooting stars.”

And they stared up into space, filled with nothing but love for the moment, and that moment was each other.


	6. Day 1 Family

As I sat in the passenger seat of her car, I grew increasingly anxious, wringing my hands and trying to distract myself from what was about to happen. 

“Are you sure they’ll like me?” I asked for what must’ve been the hundredth time, “I mean my own parents barely like me”

“Yes, I already said that they’d like you just fine. You don’t need to keep asking, you know that right?” Eileen chuckled back

“I know I know, I’m just so nervous. I’ve never had to impress ANYONE’s parents before, let alone parents of someone as smart as you”

“Rigby. I promise. They’ll like you.” 

“But…”

“No buts! Trust me on this one” As she said this she moved her hand from the wheel and on to mine to comfort me.

I was going to meet her parents for the first time and it felt like my stomach was eating itself from the inside out due to my nerves. What was I supposed to talk about? My dead end job? Doing nothing all day with my best friend? Slacking off work? I sunk into my seat, dreading the embarrassment I knew was going to come. Eileen and I had been dating for months, and the only thing I could brag about to her parents was setting up a flat screen tv! 

“We’re here!”

My heart sank at this. In my wallowing and self pity I stopped paying attention to how close we were. Now I was really dead, instead of thinking of something to say to her family I was feeling bad for myself. Shit.

“Are you sure we have to do this?” I asked while trying to look as pathetic as possible in a pitiful bid for sympathy “I mean can’t we do it another day? Maybe after I’ve accomplished literally anything in life..”

Eileen looked at me sadly “Rigby they’re my parents, they mean a lot to me. I know you’re stressed but could you please do this? For me?” as she finished her sentence she squeezed my hand. Gah! How could I say no to that? Looking down to the ground I grumbled a ‘sure’ and opened the car door. The air outside was cool and crisp compared to the stuffy car we had been in, and especially compared to our Californian home town. I looked around and took in my new surroundings.

Eileen never really told me much about her hometown, and looking around at the beauty around me I couldn’t understand why. The pine trees cast a cool shade over the rustic log house and it’s yard, and in the distance I could hear waves gently crashing against the shore. As I was taking in the view a cool ocean breeze washed over us, cooling me down to an almost perfect temperature. I was enchanted with the land around me, and I was completely convinced that maybe Oregon was heaven. How could Eileen not have told me about somewhere so beautiful? As I stood, bewildered with the beauty, a booming voice awoke me from my stupor.

“So you’re Eileen's new boyfriend huh?”

The words were coming from a large man who had just opened the door to the house. He was rather round, and was wearing a sweater blue and red sweater vest and round glasses, almost identical to Eileens. If he were to have had a beard he would’ve bared a striking resemblance to Santa.

“Uh.. yes…” I managed to sputter out while holding my hand out, “sir” I added unsurely to the end, feeling as though my previous statement hadn’t been quite respectful enough. The man grabbed my hand and shook it firmly, so firmly that I thought I might need to have a doctor check my hand afterwards.

“Dad this is Rigby, Rigby this is dad” Eileen said, introducing us to each other, face bright red with embarrassment.

“Nice to meet you Mr. Roberts” I managed to say without stuttering.

“Please, call me Bill” He said, a huge smile beaming from his face. At this I was able to relax a bit and cursed myself for being overly formal. “Well what are we doing standing out here? Come in come in!” He joyfully said, ushering us inside. The interior of the house was just as stunning as the view from outside, and again I wondered why Eileen rarely talked about her home. The house had a rustic feel, with most of the furniture being made of logs, or at the very least stylized to look that way. Woolen blankets draped over most the furniture in the large living room, and a large flat screen TV sat above a warm cozy fireplace. 

“Can I get you two anything to drink?” A voice called from the kitchen. Looking over I saw that their kitchen was incredibly modern, offsetting the rustic aesthetic the rest of the house had, and in that kitchen was a tall blonde woman who looked… nothing like Eileen?

“Is that your mom?” I whispered to Eileen who had just finished greeting her dad with a hug.

“We’ll talk about that later” She whispered back rather harshly, obviously a sore spot in her life. I figured it must’ve been her step mom, as that woman was tall, curvy, skinny, and blonde and Eileen was short, stickish, petite, and a brunette, but Eileen never mentioned a stepmom to me. 

“So?” The woman asked impatiently.

“Oh uh no thank you” I replied, cursing myself internally for repeatedly getting distracted. We all sat down in the living room. Eileen caught up with her dad, telling him how college was going and work, until her dad abruptly cut her off to seemingly interrogate me.

“So what do you do for work Mr uh… Rigby?” He asked, very obviously pretending to not know my name.

“Oh I’m a groundskeeper at a local park, I mow the lawn and help with parties. That sort of stuff” I replied confidently, having rehearsed it in my head a thousand times while Eileen was chatting with him. However to my dismay Bill only replied with a grunt, and not a nod of approval like I was hoping for. “Uh.. what do you do for work?”

“Astrophysicist” He replied back suavely, acting like it was no big deal. I was taken aback, not expecting such a high paying profession to be mentioned with all the excitement of buying a pair of gym socks. At least now I knew where Eileen got her smarts from.

After a few more interrogative questions with cold responses to all my answers, the conversation began to thaw and he seemed to be warming up to me. Eventually we were talking like I was just a friend of Eileen’s, and not like I was being questioned by a judge for murder. The evening went by well, I told them of my crazy adventures with Mordecai and before I knew it dinner was ready. As I sat down to eat next to Eileen I grabbed her hand and smiled at her. I was crushing this whole meeting the parents thing, and already felt like a friend of the family. But all good things must come to an end.

“So Eileen. I haven’t properly introduced you two” Her dad began. A hush fell over the dinner table. What was going on? Introduced who? “This is my girlfriend, Shayla.” Oh shit, Eileen didn’t even know her? I thought back on our evening together and put the pieces together. Eileen hadn’t been talking to her much and did seem a little uncomfortable whenever she spoke, but I just assumed it had been a while since they spoke. I looked to Eileen expecting her to reply, but she was just staring at her feet.

“Dad you promised you wouldn’t do this again”

“I know sweetie it’s just-” He was cut off abruptly when Eileen suddenly stood up and ran up stairs, her eyes brimming with tears. For a split second we all just sat at the dinner table looking at each other. “I’ll go check on her” Bill said, getting up from the table, leaving me and Shayla alone.

“Uh. The roast is good” I said trying to break the silence. She didn’t reply. I really had to get out of there. “I think I better go check on her too…” again no reply. I couldn’t tell if she was angry, sad, embarrassed, or something else entirely but I didn’t want to wait and find out. I walked up the stairs to see Bill knocking on a door.

“Sweetie please come out and talk to me” He pleaded through the wood, but to no avail. I could hear Eileen sniffling from behind the door.

“Um maybe I could try?” I said to him sheepishly. He glared at me, as if it were MY fault that this was happening. Despite his anger towards me he stepped away from the door and went downstairs, which I took as handing me the reins. “Hey. It’s Rigby. Could I come in?” There was a brief moment of silence before I heard the door click, unlocking. I opened the door and softly closed it behind me, looking around at what must’ve been Eileen’s childhood room.

The walls were painted blue and all around the room hung various scientific posters, from star charts to tree classifications. I guess she’s always been kind of a nerd. On a big blue bed sat Eileen, her glasses off and wrapped in a blanket, holding a small raccoon stuffed animal. Luckily it looked like she stopped crying. I sat beside her and took some of the blanket so we were both cuddled under it. We sat there in silence for a minute before I decided to speak.

“So I guess you’ve always been a geek huh?” She chuckled at this. “So. Want to tell me what’s going on? Or should we just hang out under this blanket for a while longer?” She let out a long sigh, and then opened her mouth to speak.

“I’m sorry Rigby. I should’ve told you the full story.” She began to cry again so I put my arm around her, pulling her close.

“Hey it’s okay, take your time” I said in my most caring voice. I sat with her, rocking her lightly to try and calm her down. When she was done crying she spoke again.

“I never really knew my mom. She left when I was little, and me and my dad never really got along. He always had a new girlfriend that he was bringing home, and just seemed to be more interested in them than me.” She began to tear up again, but took some deep breaths and continued. “After I left home for college we didn’t talk for a while. Just a couple months before we started going out he got back in contact with me. Said he found someone to go steady with. Someone who would be our family.”

“So that’s Shayla right? Well I guess I get why you’re upset…”

“Let me finish. So I tentatively agreed and we started calling and talking again, and when we became official he kept bugging me to come up and visit with you, ‘let the new members of the family meet’ he said.” I still didn’t understand the problem, that’s exactly what happened and I couldn’t see why she was so upset. But then she spoke “And I thought he really settled down. That I would really get to have the family I never had. But he said that they had gotten married. And her name sure as hell wasn’t Shayla!” at this last point she began sobbing again, so I hugged her tighter and let her cry into me. I knew I had to do something to cheer her up, so I opened up my mouth and began talking, not quite sure where I was going to go with my thoughts.

“Well. Family’s tough” I spit out. Was that it? I had to do better. “I mean, take it from me. I don’t get along well with any of my family…” This wasn’t going to make her feel better. I knew that I had to speak from the heart, even if it was embarrassing, Eileen was worth embarrassing myself over. “Look, I don’t think I’m the best at the family stuff but I do know one thing. You get to choose who you consider your family.” She looked at me inquisitively

“What do you mean?”

“I mean like. My dad is an asshole. There’s a reason I don’t visit often or even at all. I choose to do that. Mordecai is just my friend, we’re not related but he’s the closest family I have in the entire world. My point is I guess that you get to choose who you’re close with and who you support, just because someone is related to you doesn’t make them your family.” Eileen looked at me and I immediately felt dumb. “Sorry if that’s stupid I’m not very smart”

“I don’t think that was stupid at all. I thought it was very smart” She said, and kissed me on the cheek causing me to blush. “Thanks Rigby. Lets go finish dinner” she took me by the hand and we went back to the table. Everyone was silent for a moment but Bill broke the silence.

“Sweetheart look, I…” he began but stopped, not knowing what to say next.

“I need to know why you lied to me dad” Eileen said, calmly but sternly, seeming more like a parent than her father sitting across from her.

“I really did try, but things just didn’t work out, and you just seemed so excited about having a whole family and I didn’t want to let you down” Bill remorsefully said. Eileen looked at me as if to ask whether to forgive him or not, then looked down to her feet and stayed completely silent for a minute.

“That was messed up dad. You should’ve told me the truth. But you’re still my dad, and we’re family. I shouldn’t even have to do this since I’m the kid here, but I forgive you. Just don’t do it again and you can still be my dad” Ellette said, completely stone faced. The speech was eloquent and to the point, and we all sat awaiting Bill’s response, anxious to see how he would react to his own daughter being the parent.

“I understand sweetheart. It won’t happen again.” He said, meeting Eileen’s cold stare. “I love you”

“I love you too dad. Now I think Rigby and I better go check in at our motel, it’s getting late.” She went over and hugged her dad goodbye, as I followed sheepishly and put out my hand to shake his. To my surprise he grabbed me and pulled me into a hug.

“You’re a good kid Rigby, I hope to see you here more often” Bill said, a beaming smile breaking out across his face. Despite the chaos of the evening I couldn’t help but smile back at the Santa-like man in front of me and mumble some sort of thank you.

“I’m sorry for the drama Shayla, I hope we get to meet again under more pleasant circumstances” Eileen said to Shayla, shaking her hand. Shayla simply nodded, still seemingly in awe in what had just transpired. We left the house and got in the car, going to the motel. On the way we talked about our plans for the weekend, she was going to show me her favorite spots as a kid and meet some of her old friends. When we got checked in we went up to our room and got ready for bed. Once we were under the covers and I was about to turn off the lamp she turned to me and said

“Thanks Rigby. You’re the best family I’ve ever had.”


	7. Day 3 Wedding

Rigby shifted uncomfortably in his seat, not used to being in such restraining clothes. He was sitting at the head of an eloquent banquet table, seated next to his now wife Eillen. The day had gone by in such a busy rush, he could barely focus on any one thing but getting home and getting a good night’s sleep. As his friends and family joyfully chatted around him, all Rigby could think about his brand new king sized bed in his new house.

Since Mordecai had left, life seemed to have passed Rigby at breakneck speed. Before he knew it he had moved up to Oregon with Eileen, got a job, bought a house, proposed to her, and was now married. Upon these thoughts of how fast life had seemingly passed him by, the room became stuffier. The laughs of Rigby’s loved ones began to drill in his head, driving his stress levels through the roof. He looked around for an anchor, something to calm him down, and instinctively went to hold Eileen’s hand but found her missing.

“Hey where did Eileen go?” Rigby asked into the crowd, but no one was paying attention to him, all of them lost in the joyful myrth of the wedding. His breathing became strained, the stress of life, the wedding, the cramped hot room, and the stuffy clothes were getting to him. Rigby stood up and wandered outside to get a breath of fresh air. 

The summer night in the park was warm and dark, and the sky was cloudless and full of stars. Standing there, Rigby remembered all the adventures he had gone on, and all the good times that had passed him by. He remembered the ladder up to the roof behind the building, and decided he’d do a little stargazing until the party missed him. Climbing up the ladder he was reminded of his first date with Eileen, and couldn’t help but wonder where she was.

His questions were answered when he finally climbed on top of the roof, and saw a puffy wedding dress laying on the roof, looking towards the sky.

“Mind if I join you?” Rigby asked, already on his way to lay down next to the woman.

“Of course not” Eileen’s voice piped up from the pile of white lace and fluff. “Sorry for ditching you, I just needed some air”

“Me too” The couple lay in silence for a moment. “Remember when we went camping for the first time and you pointed out the constellations?”

“Yeah, that was really fun” Eileen answered, a small smile growing on her face. She scooted closer to Rigby and he put his arm around her. 

“You think we’ll ever have adventures like that again? Now that we’re married?” The words escaped Rigby’s lips. He didn’t mean to say it out loud, but the thought had come out anyway. Rigby expected Eileen to respond with anger, or perhaps sadness at the insinuation that they no longer had adventures, but instead he was met with laughter.

“You’re kidding right? We have adventures all the time!” Eileen responded, still laughing.

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. Moving to Oregon was such an adventure, finding new jobs, new friends. Are you telling me that sleeping on the floor because the furniture had come late wasn’t an adventure?” Rigby had never thought about it that way before “What about when you wanted to take me out to dinner to celebrate my job but you forgot your wallet and wanted to arm wrestle the waiter to pay? I think that was pretty adventurous.” Rigby laughed, remembering getting banned after he had lost. “Just because we’re a couple now doesn’t mean we don’t have adventures. Even today is an adventure!” Eileen finished her monologue joyfully.

Rigby looked at his wife laying besides him, and she looked back, an ecstatic grin on her face. 

“I love you Rigby. We’re going to have plenty of adventures, don't you worry” She laid her head on his chest as she said this, and Rigby stroked her soft brown hair.

“I love you too Eileen” Rigby said, and kissed her on the top of the head.


End file.
